Robert Gibbs, president and CEO of Gibbs Planning Group
ATLANTA—Empty nesters transitioning into senior citizens is becoming one of the largest demographic transitions in US history. How big is this group?
The population change for seniors, who are defined in this context as 55-plus, is higher than the percentage change for the US population, according to ESRI. That's telling but let's break it down further.
Seniors today represent 25.2% of the US population. This is expected to increase to almost 27.6% by 2016 and is up from just 21% in 2000. In 2000, the median age in the United States was 35.3 years, according to ESRI. By 2010, this number had increased to 37.1 years.
How will this impact housing? Robert Gibbs, president and CEO of Gibbs Planning Group, tells GlobeSt.com just as the Baby Boomers impacted every major market segment from bicycles, to autos, to colleges and the job market, as they age they are creating a perfect storm for the housing market.
“Empty nesters will be abandoning their large suburban homes en masse and seeking compact, easy to maintain homes in walkable neighborhoods and urban centers,” Gibbs says. “A study from George Washington University estimates that large four- to five-bedroom suburban homes will lose up to 30% of their value by 2030.”
With those stats, Gibbs is making a solid prediction. During this period, he says, the demand for condos, apartments and small lot cottage homes will increase significantly.
“Baby Boomers are social and prefer living in settings where they can make friends,” Gibb says. “They enjoy walking to cafes, parks, libraries and places of worship. Baby Boomers will also be more active and healthy than preceding generations. Many Baby Boomers will continue working part-time, even after their official retirement, especially from a home office.”
When it comes to housing, one size—or type—does not fit all for Baby Boomers. Check out my recent column.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
